“So, moving forward, Yeon-hwa, your main responsibility will be to protect the Director’s family and close friends.”
“I-I’ll gladly do it. It’s not that hard, anyway…”
“Good. That’s a relief.”
The Vice Director let out a deep breath.
Things really seemed to be falling into place.
…But still, I was curious.
How exactly was she going to protect my people?
“Um, how… exactly does Yeon-hwa plan to guard them?”
“I-I can control bats that move according to my will. They’ll be the ones keeping watch over your loved ones… They’re, um, born from my blood, so they can handle sunlight just fine, and they’re really strong too…”
“Wow… that’s really convenient.”
“R-right? They’ve helped the Vice Director a lot too…”
Good grief.
Yeon-hwa’s abilities were no joke either.
If what she said was true, then she’d be absolutely exceptional at personal protection.
And not just that, she’d probably be incredibly useful for tracking down rogue mutants too.
Just like Choi Si-ah, these upper-class mutations like High Elves or Jinjos came with powers far beyond the norm.
In any case, with a safeguard like this, the odds of anyone trying anything reckless dropped to almost zero.
Of course, someone might still question it.
“How can you be sure it’s safe?”
“Isn’t it too soon to rely on Yeon-hwa’s power alone?”
But my gut told me—I could trust her.
That feeling I got when I first saw her wasn’t just about her looks.
There was a moment, just for a second, where she gave off the impression of being… dangerous.
Sure, she quickly shrank back down after that, but still.
If Yeon-hwa had been even slightly malicious, I’m pretty sure Korea would’ve become uninhabitable by now.
I only know how to destroy.
But she?
She could have outright controlled people.
“To control blood.”
The more I thought about it, the more I realized how terrifying those words truly were.
Right now, every human on Earth, if they were to stand before her, would be at her mercy.
She’d hold the power of life and death in her hands.
…Well, except for me, probably.
My instincts whispered in my head.
“That doesn’t apply to you.”
“Your body is fully under your own control.”
Still, with someone that overwhelming protecting my loved ones, I’d gladly offer up as much of my blood as she needed.
“You know, I don’t praise Yeon-hwa just to be nice. If it weren’t for her and Si-ah,
Korea probably wouldn’t be this peaceful right now.”
“You’re both incredible.”
“E-ehehe… I-I don’t think I deserve praise like that… All my mom does is yell at me for never leaving the house…”
“…Have you ever told your parents what you actually do?”
“N-no… They just think I’m staying in and drinking blood all day…”
“Oh dear…”
Why is it that someone doing such good work ends up getting scolded anyway?
“You should just tell them the truth…”
“Hehehe. It’s fine. It’s not like I’m looking for anyone’s praise. Still, now that I have an official job to go to, I think they’ll scold me less!”
“Well… that’s a relief, at least.”
“U-um… Seo-hyun?”
“Yes?”
“B-by any chance… h-have you ever… read the mutant community forums?”
“Sure. I check them pretty often.”
“…”
The room went dead silent.
…Oops.
“D-did you, um… ever read any of the, uh… vampire-related posts?”
If I’m going to hide it, I should hide it completely.
But if I’m going to admit it—then I’d better be clear.
Now was the time to be honest.
“Yes.”
“H-hiiiiiiek…”
“But really, I use the forums a lot too… It’s not weird or anything.”
I said that while glancing over at Yeon-hwa.
Solidarity— that was key here.
This was one of those moments where you have to show you’re a fellow community member.
“R-right?”
“Of course. I mean, isn’t everyone at least a little curious about how other mutants live? Even my classmates at uni are on those forums.”
“R-really?”
“Yep.”
“I-I see…”
Relief washed over Yeon-hwa’s expression.
People who spend time on forums like that tend to be really sensitive about being judged for it.
I knew that feeling well.
The fear of being seen as weird or different, it’s a huge source of social anxiety.
Especially for someone like her, who clearly had a past full of painful memories in that regard…I needed to help ease that worry, because from here on out, we’d be working together.
If there was tension between us, it would only make things worse.
And more than anything.
I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable around me, especially when she was doing so much to protect me.
“You can be a little more casual with me, you know.”
“M-maybe after I get a little more used to things…”
“Ahaha! That’s fine. I’m the same way. Whenever a junior tries to drop honorifics with me too fast, I’m like, ‘Let’s get a bit closer first.’ So I get it.”
“Y-you do?”
“Sure. I’m pretty shy myself. Even though I’m technically the Director—even if it’s just a title— I’ve been trying to make an effort to reach out more. But if anything’s ever uncomfortable for you, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”
“Y-yes! T-then, um… c-can I have your number…?”
“Ah, of course. Here.”
Her hand trembled as she handed me her phone.
Yeah… she was definitely someone who needed to be treated gently.
“Okay, then—I’ll start assigning the bats to keep watch over the people around you now. These little ones will be protecting your friends and family.”
As she said that, she lightly waved her hand.
What happened next was incredible.
From the tips of her fingers, tiny droplets of blood floated out, and began to take shape as countless bats.
“Alright, everyone. This person, Seo-hyun, is the one you’re to protect from now on. That goes for her friends and loved ones, too—got it?”
Her command had been so vague that I wasn’t sure the bats would even understand her…
But they did.
The swarm of blood-formed bats gave a clear little nod, as if saying, “Understood.”
…Wow.
That old saying really came true.
“Even if it’s said clumsily, it’ll still be understood perfectly.”
“Al-alright. Now go.”
The moment she gave the word, the bats began circling around me, spinning and fluttering in a spiral, and then, they transformed.
With a soft rustling, they turned into a set of small brooches and gently fell into my hands.
Clickclickclick…
“Eh?”
“If you hand out those brooches to the people close to you, those little ones will protect them when necessary. Most mutants won’t be able to handle them.”
“R-really?”
“Y-yes. They can enter the opponent’s bloodstream, briefly stop their heart, and render them unconscious. Technically, they could cause cardiac arrest and kill them outright… but I’d really prefer not to do that…”
“…These little guys are a lot scarier than they look.”
“An-anyway, I think I’ll be heading out for today…”
“Already?”
“It’s j-just… when I talk to someone I’ve just met, I get really tired afterward…”
Ah, yeah.
I knew exactly what she meant.
Before I turned into a dragon, I used to feel completely drained after just a single social interaction.
“I get it. Totally. Please get home safe.”
“O-okay…”
And with that, Yeon-hwa turned into a bat and vanished into the sky with a whoosh.
“…Feels like a lot has happened in a really short time.”
“Haha, it really has, hasn’t it? Still, it seems like you helped ease Yeon-hwa’s nerves quite a bit. When I first met her, she couldn’t even make eye contact with me for days.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Well… I used to be a bit of a shut-in too, before I transformed. Kind of introverted, really.”
“You, Seo-hyun? You were introverted?”
“Yes. That’s why people keep calling me a fake introvert now.”
“Oh ho… Sounds like your personality really shifted after your mutation?”
“Yeah. It feels like I’ve gotten this huge boost of confidence in everything I do.”
“Oh……”
“By the way, that Fairy-type mutant—you said her name was Yoo Ha-rin?
What kind of person is she?”
“She’s the complete opposite of Yeon-hwa. Like, total opposites. When you first meet her… it’ll be chaos, I think.”
“Oh… I see.”
“She’s extremely interested in other people. To the point that, at first, it can feel a little overwhelming. It was like that for me too.”
“You too, Deputy Director?”
“Yep.”
“…Just how much of a whirlwind is she?”
“Haha… You’ll find out soon enough. Anyway, for today, let’s just take a quick look around the agency. Truthfully, you probably won’t need to come here too often. Ever since your press conference, it seems the mutant community has gotten a lot more cautious.”
That was news to me.
“Really?”
“Yes. Since you announced you’d be taking on all mutant-related crimes, they’re… playing it safe. Some of the troublemakers that used to just test the waters here and there? They’ve disappeared altogether.”
“Oh? So it is having an effect?”
“Absolutely. I think the fact that you were able to bring down that Demon-type mutant so decisively… and then publicly declared you’d be cracking down on mutant crimes, well, it’s no wonder they’re afraid.”
“Yeah… That Demon-type was seriously strong. Actually, now that I think about it, wouldn’t Yeon-hwa have been able to take him down too?”
“Haha… not necessarily. It’s true that Yeon-hwa is very powerful, but the Demon-type mutant had a certain degree of resistance to her abilities.
Maybe it was a quirk of his species or something, we don’t really know for sure.”
“So we only managed to injure him—we couldn’t capture him, and there was quite a bit of damage. There was a reason why the Demon-type mutant was treated with such caution.”
“Good thing we dealt with him when we did. Yeon-hwa seemed really strong, though…”
“Of course, she would’ve been strong if she had stepped in directly. But at the time, it hadn’t been long since she transformed, so she wasn’t fully aware of her abilities yet.”
“That’s why she supported us from home using her bats… If she had stepped in now, the outcome might have been very different.”
“Ah, that makes sense. It took me a while to fully understand my powers, too.
Anyway, I’m glad I pushed myself to speak strongly at the press conference.”
“Right? Thanks to that, things feel a bit more hopeful, haha!”
“So, we’re done for today?”
“Yes. Originally, I was going to introduce you to Ha-rin as well, but she couldn’t make it today… So you’ll probably meet her next time. Thanks for your hard work today.”
“You too, Deputy Director.”
With that, I returned home.
And when I checked my smartphone, what I saw was…
A completely different side of Yeon-hwa from the person I’d spoken with in person.
[Ha Yeon-hwa: Hehehe, it was so nice meeting you today~!]